This is the link to the message on the YouTube channel. (This message has really blessed my heart.) So amazing what will happen.

https://youtu.be/d2HwFU7Vy8I

I ended the last message with end times prophecy of Jerusalem. In this message, I want to go back to the old Jerusalem, before Israel was even a nation.

Genesis 12:1-3 is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. The Lord told Abram to leave his father’s house and to go to a land that he will show Abram. He said to Abram that he would make him a great nation. The Lord also said that he would bless them that blessed him and curse them that curse him. The Lord has kept his promise and always will.

Genesis 13:14-15 “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”

The Lord will not break his promises to Abram (Who is Abraham). As far as Abram could see, the Lord said to him this will I give to thee. I find it amazing, but Abram never stayed in one place his whole life. For ever is eternal. Anyone in their right mind would not go against God Almighty. This is an eternal promise to Abram and to his seed.

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, was in a meeting with other Ambassadors, and he held up a copy of the Bible for all the Ambassadors present to see and said, “This is our deed to our land.” Wow! No one said anything. The Word of God will quiet Satan every time.

Fast forward to King David. He makes Jerusalem his capital of Israel.

Looking at 2 Samuel 5:6-8 — At the time King David took Jerusalem, the Jebusites were living in Jerusalem. The world would say that the owners of the land should be the Jebusites. The only problem with this is they are not the creator of the Universe. Only God has the right to give land to anyone. Mankind does not have that right.

2 Samuel 5:5 “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem, he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.”

Israel has never changed her capital and never will. Now I want to get into the message that was the introduction to the message.

Fast forward from around 1,000 B.C.to 587 B.C. Things have changed so much in Jerusalem; it is not looking good at all. You might look at this on the outside and say to yourself that God has broken his promise with Abraham. But we have to remember it is an eternal promise.

Jeremiah 32:1-2 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.” 2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.”

Verse two — The king of Babylon’s army has surrounded Jerusalem, and Jeremiah is in prison. How much worse can it get for Jeremiah? Maybe I need to ask the question, how much worse can it get for you or me? I will come back to this, but I want to ask another question. Why was Jeremiah in prison? Jeremiah spoke the truth.

Jeremiah 32:3 “For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.”

Is there anyone on the face of this earth that can shut up the truth? No. Most of the world today still does not believe the truth. One day they will kneel before Truth (Jesus Christ). How much worse can it get for you? I believe in my heart that it will get much worse for those of us that are trying to reach the world for Christ. It will also get worse here on this earth for all of us before the rapture of the church. I made a promise to my Savior that no matter how bad it gets, I will serve him for the rest of my life – by the grace of God and the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.

Back to the message:

Jeremiah is in prison for speaking the truth. No doubt he is hungry and cold and cannot sleep; he has to make sure all of the creeping things that are crawling everywhere do not get on him. The city that he loves is besieged by the enemy. There is no way out. He is known as the weeping prophet because he was crying for Judah and Jerusalem all of the time.

WHAT IS GOD’S RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS IN JEREMIAH’S LIFE? I WANT YOU TO BUY LAND. You want me to do what, Lord? (That would be my response to the Lord.)

Jeremiah 32:7-9 “Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.”

I wonder how Jeremiah responds to the Lord in his heart. I would have said, Lord, you want me to do what? Lord, you do know I am in prison, and the enemy has besieged this city. I may not even come out of this alive, Lord.

Jeremiah gave the money to Hanameel for the land. Notice he came to Jeremiah while he was in prison.

Why did the Lord tell Jeremiah to buy land? (Remember, the promise is eternal.)

Jeremiah 32:36 “And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

Jeremiah 32:37 “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.”

Verse 36 has come to pass. We know what happened to Jerusalem; it was destroyed, and so many were taken into Babylon as slaves.

Verse 36 has been happening before our very eyes. Who says there is no God? Who says God has turned his back on Israel? God knew he was going to be leading the Jews back to the promised land. We really are on the winning side.

So many pastors and Christians have given up. The easiest thing to do is to give up. The Devil is on the losing side, and one day he will be totally defeated. The enemy is all around us, but the Bible says, “Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.”

Don’t give up; don’t quit. The lost souls all around the world are worth fighting for; your lost family members are worth fighting for. If you quit, what would you feel like when you see Jesus’s precious face?

Jeremiah said in verse 8, “Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.”

Do you want to have peace in your heart? Then receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you have already done that, then get into the Word of God. That is why so many Christians are falling away from the battle. It is time to get back into the battle.

A descendant of David will be king:

Jeremiah 33:14-16 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.”

Jesus Christ is the Branch of righteousness. Joseph and Mary are descendants of King David. The Lord will fulfill his promise to David.

Zechariah 8:20-23 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people, and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

Jesus will be on his throne in Jerusalem, and the whole world will have to deal with Jesus. No one will be going to New York, Washington DC, London, Paris, Moscow, or any other city. They will not be going to the United Nations Headquarters. No official will be trying to start a war somewhere. Jesus Christ will be in FULL CONTROL OF THE WHOLE EARTH. There will be no arguing with him. What a glorious day that will be when King Jesus is King over the whole earth!

When does this happen? Revelation 19:11-21. When you get a chance, read these verses.

Revelation 19:11-13 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”

This time, Jesus is not coming to the earth as a Lamb for the slaughter. He is not coming to the earth to die but to rule with a rod of iron (verse 15). No soldier will be able to slap his face or spit on his face. King Jesus will not be beaten. No one will be a judge over him. No one will tell lies about him. No one will be nailing him to a tree. No one will be placing a crown of thorns on his head. No one will be mocking him. That is so comforting to know.

How long will Jesus rule on this earth? Revelation 20:1-10. When you have time, read these verses.

He will rule on this earth for 1,000 years. At the end of all this comes the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15.

Then comes the new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-27). Revelation21:4 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

The new Jerusalem is verses 9 to 27. Wow! How many hours in your lifetime have you thought about all of this – after the 1,000-year reign on earth? Everything will be made new. No more curses on man, woman, earth, or animals.

According to the book America’s God and Country by William J. Federer, Mary Todd Lincoln said that these were the last words of Abraham Lincoln. Here is an excerpt:

“He said he wanted to visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footprints of the Savoir. He was saying there was no city he so much desired to see as Jerusalem.” And with the words half spoken on his tongue, the bullet of the assassin entered the brain, and the soul of the great President was carried by the angels to the New Jerusalem above” (page 391).

I am asking all true blood-bought prayer warriors to write these dates down on your calendar to pray, fast, and repent for this nation for a day. We are believing we will move the heart of God to save the lost. I ask you to please be a part of the harvest of lost souls that will receive Jesus as their Savior. We are also praying for the protection of Christians.

For Russia and on behalf of over 146,053,722 precious souls on June 06, 2022.

On a personal note, I am asking all prayer warriors to join me on behalf of my wife Jenni. Her health is not good at all; this has been going on for seven years. We are to a point where the medical field is saying there is no hope, but my Jesus is still on the throne. She is in the hands of Jesus, and I have put my faith and trust in him. Thank you for your prayers.

As I write this article, she is in the hospital. We are praying that there will be at least one doctor that really cares about her enough to do something for her. Thank you.

Keith Watts

Online Missionary to the world

How to get in touch with me:

On Facebook Prayer Warriors 4Him Online Ministries

Email bkwatts64@yahoo.com

 

At critical times in his life, Esau made terrible decisions because he could not see beyond the moment. He lived for the immediate gratification of his desires without any regard for the consequences, for the future, or for eternity.

Esau’s life alerts us to the dangers of living solely for the temporal world, for things we can see versus those things that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:17-18).

(This post is an excerpt from my book with a few revisions, The Bad Guys of the Bible – And What They Teach Us About Walking with God, chapter 8, “Esau Lives for the Moment.”)

1. The Danger of Seeking Immediate Satisfaction

I wonder what made Esau’s hunger so intense on the day he sold his birthright. It’s difficult to imagine that he was actually as close to death as he claimed. Why couldn’t he have waited for someone else to cook something for him? Was Jacob really that great of a cook?

Later, Esau prepared a meal of “delicious food” for his father on the day he expected to receive his father’s blessing (Genesis 27:31). So, Esau could cook! Was he really too exhausted to do anything else but beg Jacob for food in exchange for his birthright?

What did Esau do at other times when he returned from a day of hunting? Not only could he cook, but he was a member of a wealthy family. Although not specifically mentioned in Genesis, it’s probable that his family had servants who could have prepared a meal for him.

I don’t doubt Esau’s weariness or intense hunger. While not the most satisfying choice to him at the time, he could have refused Jacob’s deal and sought other alternatives. Why such a rash and foolish decision to satisfy his immediate hunger?

Desire by itself is not bad or sinful. Imagine never experiencing hunger or desiring tasty food. While that might be great for weight control, it could have fatal consequences. We need food to survive, and our hunger keeps us pursuing needed nourishment.

However, when we seek the immediate satisfaction of a desire, it most often results in foolish choices. Esau’s decision to sell his birthright was reckless; he put the need of the moment above all other considerations. Like Esau, it’s tempting to believe our desires must be satisfied right away. Such a frame of mind frequently leads to sin and unwelcome consequences.

Proverbs 16:26 says, “A worker’s appetite works for him; / his mouth urges him on.” The desire to eat makes us get up in the morning and go to work. Our hunger pushes us forward; it’s a good thing, part of God’s plan for us. This is true even when the Lord makes us wait (as He often does).

Is this not also true for the other things we desire in this life? I have discovered from experience that when God makes me wait, the answer He brings is much better than what I could have obtained by rushing ahead of Him. It’s the anticipation of the good that the Lord has for us in this life that motivates us to wait for it, or work for it in the way He desires.

Like Esau, we get in trouble when we run ahead of the Lord’s provision and demand immediate gratification for our desires. Sometimes the Lord makes us wait a very long while He fulfills other purposes in our lives, but in the end, we will find that He rewards our patience.

2. The Danger of Ignoring Eternity

In 1984, Twila Paris wrote a song titled “Forever Eyes.” The words to this song describe the perspective Esau lacked. The lyrics contrast living for the moment versus eyes that see beyond the present into eternity. The song emphasizes our need to see beyond what’s currently right in front to things with eternal values.

Second Corinthians 4:17-18 says,

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Esau valued the fleeting realities of this life over eternal values. As a result, despite his later acquisition of great wealth and power, we regard him as a failure, one deemed “godless” by the writer of Hebrews.

Esau epitomizes those who live with a one-world perspective. He made decisions based solely on what he could see. The great promises God made to Esau’s grandfather Abraham represented something in the distant future with no real meaning to him. Like many today, he lived with no thought of eternity.

We do not know what Abraham might have taught his descendants regarding eternity or the future resurrection. Hebrews 11:13-19 tells us that the patriarch believed in both God’s ability to raise the dead and in a “city” beyond this life. Abraham possessed an eternal perspective; he saw far beyond the need of the moment. Hebrews 11:16 says that he desired “a better country, a heavenly one.” We can safely assume that he passed this vision of the future, of eternity, on to Isaac and possibly to Jacob and Esau as well, who would have been teenagers when Abraham died.

Throughout the New Testament, the apostles point believers to our “blessed hope” of the return of Jesus for His church (see Titus 2:11-13). At the end of the book of Revelation, we also have a wondrous promise of a glorious eternity where there will be no more suffering, death, or tears (Rev. 21:4).

As we face the challenges of life, we must never lose sight of the thrilling hope ahead for us that begins with Jesus’ appearing. That’s when He will take us to the place He is preparing for us (John 14:2-3). That is the substance of the “blessed hope” of the gospel!

3. The Danger of Gathering Wealth Without Regard for The Lord

When Jacob and Esau later reconciled, I believe Esau’s gracious attitude toward his brother resulted from the riches and fame he had gained in the intervening years. During the twenty years the brothers were apart, Esau obtained all the material blessings, power, and fame he could ever desire. He approached Jacob with four hundred men, a sign of both considerable wealth and great worldly influence (Genesis 32:6).

Esau, as his wealth increased, forgot all about the stolen blessing. He had all he wanted from this life, and that was enough; what did he really miss by not receiving his father’s blessing? We see no sign of reverence for the Lord in Esau’s life or in that of his descendants.

Esau reminds me of the Lord’s parable about the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21. At the end of a bountiful harvest, the rich man vainly reflects on his wealth. Thinking his wealth came as the result of his own efforts, he boasts about his vast fortune and financial security.

The foolish farmer overlooked the Lord’s role in providing the harvest and failed to thank Him for it. He focused solely on his own efforts in securing his future. He did not consider eternity or the lost state of his soul.

Death came that very night for him. For Esau, the end did not come quickly, yet the end result was the same. He later died, and his great wealth and power vanished like a vapor. The question Jesus asked in Mark 8:36 seems pertinent in Esau’s case, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” I wonder if Jesus was thinking about Esau when He asked that question.

From a worldly perspective, Esau was anything but a failure. In addition to his success in acquiring livestock, riches, and great power, the ancient nation of Edom descended from him. What did he lose from an earthly perspective by failing to obtain his father’s blessing?

Jacob became the father of the nation of Israel, and Esau the forefather of the nation of Edom. One might look at this and think they both enjoyed earthly success.

God’s Word, however, views their respective lives and outcomes quite differently. The writer of Hebrews praises the faith of Jacob (Hebrews 11:21) but says Esau was “godless” (Hebrews 12:16). Jacob’s name appears in the hall of fame for faith, while Scripture emphasizes the futility of Esau’s life.

Which evaluation would you prefer at the close of your life?

The nation of Edom no longer exists. Like its founder, it flourished for a while but has since vanished from the pages of history.

The descendants of Jacob, however, remain and possess a glorious future. Israel now miraculously exists as a nation, and during the millennium, Jesus will rule the world seated upon the throne of His father David in the city of Jerusalem. The Lord will bless Jacob’s heritage forever.

Walking with God

What does Esau teach us about our walk with God? He demonstrates the danger of ignoring spiritual realities for the sake of temporary pleasures. Those who walk with the Lord recognize that the things of this life are fleeting, a fleeting vapor. They learn to value things with eternal value above the temporal realities of what we see on earth.

The apostle Peter says that we have been “born again to a living hope… to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Peter later instructs us with these words, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

Our hope rests solely in Jesus and in His promises of eternal life. Romans 8:24 says that “we were saved” in the hope of Jesus’ appearing, for it’s at that time He will give us imperishable glorified bodies, and we will experience our adoption into God’s forever family.

Many passages in the New Testament draw our attention to this glorious hope, to the realization that this life is not all we have. Yet so many Christians live as though this life is all that they have. Because of their erroneous outlook, they miss the multitude of signs that tell us we live in the last days.

Walking with God enables us to look beyond the futility of this life to our certain possession of eternal life and glory in eternity. Such a perspective keeps us watching for Jesus’ appearing.

Each character study in Bad Guys of the Bible ends with a “Walking with God” section and a study guide with 8-10 questions to generate discussion on the main points of the passage.

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